# Graz University of Technology

Graz University of Technology (German: Technische Universität Graz, short TU Graz) is a public research university located in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research and educational institute in Austria. It currently comprises seven faculties and is a public university. It offers 19 bachelor's and 36 master's study programmes (of which 20 are in English) across all technology and natural sciences disciplines. Doctoral training is organised in 14 English-speaking doctoral schools. The university has more than 17,000 students, and around 1,900 students graduate every year. The Graz University of Technology and the University of Graz co-operate in teaching and research of natural sciences.
The university has a staff of 3,935. Research areas are combined in five fields of expertise. TU Graz, the University of Leoben and TU Wien form the network Austrian Universities of Technology (TU Austria) with more than 45,000 students and 11,000 staff.

## Campus

The university has multiple campuses, as it is mainly situated on three sites in the city, two in the centre of Graz and one in the southeast of the city.
* Old Technik (Rechbauerstrasse / Lessingstrasse)
* New Technik (Kopernikusgasse / Petersgasse)
* Inffeldgasse
Campus buildings at the Graz University of Technology
* Main building
* New Technology building
* BMT building (Biomedical Engineering)
* A further Chemistry building
* Institute for Computer Graphics and Vision (Inffeldgasse 16)
* Engineering Mathematics/ Geodesy building
* Study Centre (Inffeldgasse 10)

## History

1811: The Joanneum is founded by Archduke John of Austria. The first subjects taught were physics, chemistry, astronomy, mineralogy, botany, and technology. Friedrich Mohs became the first professor of mineralogy in 1812.
1864: The Styrian government makes it the Joanneum Regional and Technical College.
1874: The Austrian government takes over the Imperial-Royal College of Technology in Graz.
1888: Opening of the Main Building (Old Technik) by Franz Joseph I of Austria.
1901: The Technical College is granted the right to award doctorates.
1955: The Technical College is divided into three faculties.
1976: The Technical College is divided into five faculties and renamed Graz University of Technology, Archduke-Johann-University (Technische Universität Graz, Erzherzog-Johann Universität).
2004: The new Austrian university law (UG 2002) is fully implemented – the university is divided into seven faculties.

## Organization

The university consists of seven faculties:
* Faculty of Architecture
* Faculty of Civil Engineering Sciences
* Faculty of Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering
* Faculty of Electrical and Information Engineering
* Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Economic Sciences
* Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Geodesy
* Faculty of Technical Chemistry, Chemical and Process Engineering, and Biotechnology

## Teaching

Students at TU Graz have a choice of 19 bachelor programmes and 36 master programmes. Graduates receive the academic degrees BSc, MSc or Diplom-Ingenieur/-in (Dipl.-Ing.). The doctoral programmes (Dr.techn. and Dr.rer.nat.) are offered as postgraduate programmes. Continuing education is offered in the framework of Lifelong Learning and consists of 11 part-time master's programmes and university programmes plus a range of other courses.

## Facts and figures

* Beginners: 1,780
* Graduates (academic year 2022/23): 1,855
* Federal budget 2023: €208.6 million
* Income from third-party funds 2023: €88.4 million
* Floor space (m$^2$): 277,817
* Non-academic staff: 1,151
* Academic staff: 1,932 (of which project staff 1,106)
* Lecturers/student assistants: 854
Data from: 2023/24

## Rankings

In Shangai Ranking's 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects, it is in the 201-300 range in biomedical engineering and in the 301-400 range in atmospheric science and in mathematics. It can be found in the 401-500 range in biotechnology, in chemistry, and in materials science & engineering. In the 2023 Leiden Ranking, the PP$_{top10%}$ analysis puts it on position 558, the PP$_{industry}$ ranks Graz University of Technology on place 13.

## Notable alumni

* Raimund Abraham (1933–2010), architect
* Silke Bühler-Paschen, physicist
* Günther Domenig (1934–2012), architect
* Friedrich Emich (1860–1940), chemist
* Dietmar Feichtinger (born 1961), architect
* Anselm Franz (1900-1994), pioneering jet engineer, inventor of the Jumo 004 and Lycoming T53 turbine engines
* Ernst Hiesmayr (1920–2006), architect, artist and former rector of the Technical University Vienna
* Karl Kordesch, fuel cell and battery designer
* Hans List, technical scientist and inventor, entrepreneur
* Hanns Malissa (1920–2010), chemist
* Hubert Petschnigg, architect
* Alois Riedler (1850–1936), mechanical engineer
* Rudolf Sanzin (1874–1922), locomotive designer
* Friedrich St. Florian (born 1932), architect
* Nikola Tesla, electrical and mechanical engineer, inventor (did not receive a degree and did not continue beyond the first semester of his third year, during which he stopped attending lectures)
* Karl von Terzaghi, civil engineer and founder of soil mechanics
* Luis Trenker (1892–1990), architect, artist and alpinist

## Partnerships

TU Graz has set up strategic partnerships with five universities:
* TU Darmstadt, Germany
* Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy
* Technical University of Munich, Germany
* Tongji University, Shanghai, China
* University of Strathclyde, UK
Graz University of Technology is also a member of CESAER.

## Affiliates and shareholdings

TU Graz holds shares in more than 20 companies, mainly research centres like the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology or Virtual Vehicle. It also hosts the Austrian Centre for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis and the headquarters of the Silicon Austria Labs.